JSC *seriously* threatened by Hurricane Ike?

....A few of my OMBloggers have reported that the Houston news stations
are reporting that JSC is *seriously* in danger of being flooded by
the storm surge from Hurricane Ike. Jorge, has anyone out there where
you are said anything about this? And Sy, if you or anyone in that
area are reading this, howabout letting us know you guys are otay?

As I've said on OMBlog, if you're in the path of this monster, get the
hell to higher ground, because it ain't gonna be the winds that kill
you.

OM
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] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
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"OM" wrote in message
...
As I've said on OMBlog, if you're in the path of this monster, get the
hell to higher ground, because it ain't gonna be the winds that kill
you.

Unless you can breathe underwater. Good luck and best wishes to all in the
path of Ike.

OM wrote:
...A few of my OMBloggers have reported that the Houston news stations
are reporting that JSC is *seriously* in danger of being flooded by
the storm surge from Hurricane Ike. Jorge, has anyone out there where
you are said anything about this? And Sy, if you or anyone in that
area are reading this, howabout letting us know you guys are otay?

The only comparable storm that has hit JSC this directly was Alicia in
1983. That was a Cat 3 storm with up to 12 ft storm surge. JSC sustained
$250k damage from Alicia, mostly wind-related, no flooding.

Ike is a strong Cat 2 storm, but it covers a very wide area and carries
a storm surge comparable to a Cat 4-5 storm, in the 17-20 ft range. It
has the potential to flood the ground floors of some buildings at JSC.

I won't be able to report on this firsthand since we evacuated Thursday.
The plan was to reopen the center on Monday but that may be hard to pull
off if authorities keep evacuees from returning.

Jorge R. Frank wrote:

Ike is a strong Cat 2 storm, but it covers a very wide area and carries
a storm surge comparable to a Cat 4-5 storm, in the 17-20 ft range. It
has the potential to flood the ground floors of some buildings at JSC.

Upper floors can still flood if there are emergency doors facing the
wind (unless they are really airtight/watertight) or windows that break.


Good luck to the folks down there.

Ike can't be too dangerous because a bunch of TV reporters are surviving the
storm while standing out in the open wearing only a windbreaker. ;-)

--

Scott

tscottme wrote:
Ike can't be too dangerous because a bunch of TV reporters are surviving the
storm while standing out in the open wearing only a windbreaker. ;-)


In the case of the CNN entertainment network, what the reporters don't
show you is their immediate surroundings. They are hidden BEHIND a
building where the winds are bearable and the risk of being hit by
debris much lower. You may see them change positions when the winds
change after the eye.

In the case of CNN at Galveston, they are at the St Luis hotel along
with all other media, authorities and emergency personnel. But they make
it look like they are the only media there.

If you are behind the right shape of building, the winds can be quite
moderate and the building will protect you from flying debris.

If you are on the shores, then the wind won't be throwing building
debris of parts of trees at you.

John Doe wrote:
You may see them change positions when the winds
change after the eye.

CNN in Galveston didn't change positions. They are in a multistory
parking lot. (with a roof over their head, although they don't show this
unless the camera pans the wrong way). They were sheltered by the hotel
during the first phase of the storm, but after the eye passed and wind
changed 180°, they shouldn't be surprised that they are no longer sheltered.

You can tell there is serious wind because he has to shout into his
microphone.

If he had switched shelter to the other side of the hotel, he would be
as calm as he was before the eye. Poor planning by CNN.

On Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:18:15 -0500, "Jorge R. Frank"
wrote:

I won't be able to report on this firsthand since we evacuated Thursday.
The plan was to reopen the center on Monday but that may be hard to pull
off if authorities keep evacuees from returning.

....According to a KHOU-TV reporter who's stationed at that big hotel
next to Nassau Bay - Sheraton? - they're seeing furniture with NASA
logos floating down along with the floodwaters to mingle with all the
boats and yachts that have either been damaged or outright sunk,
although they haven't confirmed whether this was from JSC or from an
offsite conference room. I tried getting on to the JSC page that's
supposed to let employees know whether or not to come in on goofy
weather days, but the page times out.

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[

On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:51:06 -0500, OM
wrote:

On Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:18:15 -0500, "Jorge R. Frank"
wrote:

I won't be able to report on this firsthand since we evacuated Thursday.
The plan was to reopen the center on Monday but that may be hard to pull
off if authorities keep evacuees from returning.

...According to a KHOU-TV reporter who's stationed at that big hotel
next to Nassau Bay - Sheraton? - they're seeing furniture with NASA
logos floating down along with the floodwaters to mingle with all the
boats and yachts that have either been damaged or outright sunk,
although they haven't confirmed whether this was from JSC or from an
offsite conference room. I tried getting on to the JSC page that's
supposed to let employees know whether or not to come in on goofy
weather days, but the page times out.

....FYI, I have still not heard anything back from either Sy Liebergot
or Michael Grabois, who are down in that mess. In most areas outside
of Downtown Houstopolis, power is out and expected to be out for days
if not weeks, so internet access is probably shot for the time being.

....On a side note, Dubya has promised that the FTC would be
"monitoring" gas prices to make sure nobody's gouged. It would have
been far easier to declare an emergency freeze on gas prices and order
anyone who raises their prices by as much as one cent get tossed in
jail for a year. Of course, that would be Dubya doing something
*right* for a chance, although if he did the jails would probably wind
up looking like Guantanamo.

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[

On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 02:08:25 -0500, "tscottme"
wrote:

Ike can't be too dangerous because a bunch of TV reporters are surviving the
storm while standing out in the open wearing only a windbreaker. ;-)

And then there was the streaker running around behind the Weather
Channel idiot in Beaumont. Oh yeah, really horrible conditions there
if a guy can run around in the buff...

Brian